Nursery Songs, or Mother Goose Rhymes Set to Music

by Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981)

1. Jack and Jill
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water;
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

Up Jack got, and home did trot,
As fast as he could caper;
Went to bed to mind his head,
With vinegar and brown paper.

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

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2. God bless you!
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Christmas is coming! The geese are getting fat;
Please put a penny in the old man's hat.
If you haven't got a penny
A ha'penny will do,
If you haven't got a ha'penny,
God bless you!

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  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

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3. I love little pussy
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
I love little pussy,
Her coat is so warm,
And if I don't hurt her she'll do me no harm;
So I'll not pull her tail,
Nor drive her away,
But pussy and I very quickly will play.

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  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

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4. Two old men Sung Text

Note: this is a multi-text setting


There was an old man from Jamaica
Who suddenly married a Quaker!
But she cried out, "O lack! 
I have married a black!"
Which distressed that old man from Jamaica!

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There was an old man from Peru
Who watched his wife baking a stew 
But one day by mistake, 
In the stove she did bake
That unfortunate man from Peru!

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5. Tom, Tom, the piper's son
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Tom, Tom, the piper's son,
He learned to play when he was young,
But the only tune that he could play,
Was "Over the hills" and "Over the hills"
and "Over the hills and far away."

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  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

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6. The Rockaby Lady
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
The Rock-a-By Lady from Hushaby street
       Comes stealing; comes creeping;
The poppies they hang from her head to her feet,
And each hath a dream that is tiny and fleet ---
She bringeth her poppies to you, my sweet,
       When she findeth you sleeping!

 ...

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7. I do not like thee, Dr. Fell
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
I do not like thee, Dr Fell,
The reason why I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not like thee, Dr Fell.

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  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

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The story is told that Tom Brown (1663-1704) was threatened with expulsion by an Oxford don unless he could translate the following epigram by Martial (I, 33, 1): "Non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare; Hoch tantum possum dicere, non amo te." The reply was reportedly the text shown above, which was later used as a nursery rhyme (from 1926). Cf. Samuel Barber: A Thematic Catalogue of the Complete Works by Barbara B. Heyman, Oxford University Press, 2012, page 15.


Researcher for this page: Mike Pearson
Total word count: 291